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Indybay Feature

Page Mill Properties Has the Bucks to "Manage" Their Reputation

by East Palo Alto Displacement Watch
While tenants in East Palo Alto organize against exorbitant rent increases with few resources other than their own time and talents, wealthy landlord Page Mill Properties has the money for "online reputation management" and can pay bloggers who will take up their cause. And that sure looks like what is happening.
640_pmahart.jpg
Photo: Tenants organize a protest in front of Page Mill Properties' Headquarters last year. Most tenants are minorities, and many do not speak English well. Page Mill takes full advantage of the tenants' lack of resources to fight back.

Why would bloggers, at least one of whom denies that he is accepting money to do so, take up the case of wealthy landlord Page Mill Properties, a company that has used a variety of extreme tactics to intimidate tenants in East Palo Alto? The San Francisco Chronicle is sponsoring one such blogger's posts at their SFGate website.

Page Mill Properties owns over 1,800 units in East Palo Alto, roughly half of the city’s rent-controlled housing. They've hit up tenants with huge rent increases and use aggressive tactics, including hiring a Palo Alto police officer in one case, to intimidate outspoken tenants who pursue legal measures to fight back. It's hard to believe that bloggers would willy nilly (without compensation) come to defense of such a large, wealthy landlord, when the community fight for rights is the real story that deserves publicity.

Read more at Beyond Chron: http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=6883

A few links to Previous indybay coverage:

We Built this City on Rent Control
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/08/02/18521980.php

Tenant Describes Landlord Negligence
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/09/15/18538581.php

Page Mill Offers Bribe to Activist to Halt Activities, Then Calls it "Extortion"
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/02/07/18568709.php

Questionable Police Practices
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/02/07/18568731.php

More of Landlord's Extreme Tactics
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/02/09/18569157.php
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